The Boyfriend
by time4moxie
Summary: Jim's back in Scranton, but it looks like Pam's found a new man of her own.....


It was a Monday afternoon when the delivery arrived. 

"Flowers for Pam Beesly," he said, placing a glass vase of gorgeous pink and cream roses on the reception desk.

Pam stood up, looking confused. "Um, that's me," she said.

"Sign here, please."

She signed and looked at the arrangement. There were at least two dozen roses, along with a supporting batch of greenery and baby's breath. The sheer size of the display was enough to get most everyone's attention. Even Dwight looked up. Pam reached for the attached card.

They were described as Cezanne roses, and the typed message read. "_To inspire your creative side. Love, Matthew._" Pam smiled, then blushed when she realised the eyes of the entire office were upon her. She placed the card next to her keyboard, moved the vase to a more central position on her desk, and resumed working.

Kelly was the first to run over and gush. "Oh my god, are these from that guy you just told me about this morning? That guy you went out with this weekend? These are gorgeous!" Kelly couldn't resist putting her face into the bouquet and inhaling the fragrance.

Pam just smiled and nodded.

"What did you do to get these?" she asked conspiratorially.

"Nothing!" Pam laughed, amused at the candor that could only be Kelly Kapoor.

"Wow, you are SO lucky. Ryan has never given me flowers, and I think I certainly deserve them by this point. Are you going to see him again?"

Pam gazed at the flowers and grinned. "Oh yes. I hope to see him again this weekend."

Pam sat down for a regular documentary update.

"Yeah, I kinda met someone last week. Well, I knew of him for a while. His sister worked with my mom, and I met his sister, which lead to meeting him." She smiled shyly. "He's really nice. He works for a small public relations firm over in Wilkes-Barre. This past Saturday was our first real date. We spent the day at an art museum, had dinner, then went to a pops concert. I can't remember the last time I went to a concert."

"Yeah, the flowers were completely unexpected." She paused, blushing slightly as she looked away from the camera, the faintest of smiles on her face. "He's a really great guy."

By Wednesday morning, the roses had completely opened, and it was practically impossible for Pam to see anyone from behind them. She moved them to the top of the file drawer near the copier. They'd been the subject of conversation for the past two days, even from Karen who hardly ever talked to Pam unless absolutely necessary. They just didn't have anything in common.

Just before lunch, the UPS guy made his usual package drop. Pam signed for them, and began sorting. Two were for Michael, but the largest box was addressed to her. The box was green and blue, with a large Vermont Teddy Bear logo on all sides. Her eyes lit up in surprise, and excited smile played around her lips. She looked up to see if anyone had noticed the box. It didn't appear that anyone had, but when she looked over at Jim, back at his regular spot for the last month or so now, it was like he could feel her eyes on him. His head snapped up, and he looked at her. She averted her gaze and went back to opening the box.

Inside there was a card with a design matching the box. There was also small box of chocolates, and finally, a large teddy bear. Pam couldn't resist 'ahhing' over the honey colored bear, dressed in a black beret and a white smock smeared with paint. It held a paint brush and palette, and she noticed that the front of the bear's smock was personalized with her name. She took the bear out and set it down next to the vase on the cabinet. She put the chocolates on her desk and opened the card.

The card read: "_To Pam, We've only been together a short time now, but I already know I can't BEAR to be without you. Love, Matthew._"

She rolled her eyes at the silly pun, as held the card against her lips. Michael had just come out of his office when he noticed the her newest gift. "Wow, that's quite a bear!" he said, walking over to her desk.

It was true. Besides the cutesy artist attire, the bear was well over a foot tall. Even in a seated position, the bear's head stuck up just a bit higher than the vase the roses were in.

"Where did you get that?" He asked. She indicated the open box still on her desk. "The Vermont Teddy Bear Company," Michael read. "What a cool idea. I wonder if they have Regional Sales Manager bears. Did you pick the painter outfit yourself?"

She shook her head. "No, it was a gift. I had no idea they even made them."

"Oh, a gift? From the same guy who sent the roses?"

Pam nodded, unable to hide a smile.

"Man, you must have really been good to him," Michael mused, a touch of awe in his voice.

He turned around. "Hey, Halpert, did you see this bear? It's awesome." He looked back at her. "Hey, Pam, can I hold it?"

Pam saw Jim look up from his computer screen. "Yeah, I saw it. Michael."

Michael walked over to Jim's desk, the artist bear under his arm. Then he straightened the bears legs and walked it across Jim's desk, interferring with Jim's attempt to type.

"Very nice, Michael," Jim said sarcastically. "Maybe Pam's new boyfriend will buy you one too."

Pam looked down at her desk when she heard Jim's remark. He hadn't even so much as acknowledged the flowers, even though it had been impossible for him to get jelly beans this week without them being literally in his face. He'd been back in Scranton about a month, and they were civil, starting to border back to friendly, but this was clearly a topic of conversation he had no interest in discussing with her.

Jim attached the microphone to his tie and began his documentary blurb.

"Well, it's now been 5 weeks since I've come back to Scranton. Sometimes it feels like I dreamt Stamford up, except we've got Karen and Andy now. But some things just never change around here. Lots of things, really. But it's a job, at least for now."

"Ah, yeah, I heard Pam is dating someone. Kind of hard not to notice the flowers he sent on Monday, or that damn bear today." He smirked. "I mean, it's a nice bear. Being assaulted with it by Michael was a bit annoying though."

"I, ah, hope it works out for her. I mean, she's my friend; she deserves to be happy. This guy obviously has the cash to make all sorts of extravagant displays, and if she likes that kind of stuff, then good for her." He paused. "Can I get back to my desk now?"

By Friday afternoon some of the roses were looking a bit wilted, so Pam took the vase into the kitchen. Phyllis was already there, once again admiring the flowers as Pam trimmed the stems and added some sugar to the water.

She was pulling out the blooms that were beyond saving and placing them on an open napkin. She was practically finished when Jim walked in.

"On their last legs, are they?" He asked, not really looking at her.

Pam kept her back to him as she snipped the stems off the roses she'd taken out of the vase. "Oh, no. Some of them are ready to be dried, but I expect the rest will at least get through the weekend."

"Ooh," Phyllis enthused, "You're drying the roses?"

"Sure," she replied, as casually as she could. "If you know how to dry them properly, the scent lasts forever. And these were some pretty special roses."

Jim rolled his eyes in her direction and walked back out. Pam was wrapping up the snipped roses when Jim poked his head back in. "I think you got another delivery, Beesly," he said, his face unable to hide a trace of annoyance.

When he left again, Pam and Phyllis exchanged glances. "What's his problem?" Pam said. Phyllis only shook her head.

Jim was correct. Sitting on the reception desk, wrapped in colorful cellophane was a basket. She unwrapped the basket to find two dozen cookies shaped into various flowers and attached to sticks to form a cookie bouquet. She couldn't help giving a little squeal of delight, even if it was work and she really should be a bit more appropriate in her noises.

Soon everyone walked over to see the latest gift Pam had received, this one a treat they could enjoy with both their eyes and mouths. Pam encouraged everyone to have a flower, then she stepped away from her desk to read the attached card.

"_Dear Pam, I know I have probably gone a bit overboard this week, but you are so worth it. Looking forward to tonight. Love, Matthew._"

She smiled to herself and tucked the note into her sweater pocket. She'd been smiling a lot this week, but it was hard to feel guilty about it. She'd waited a long time to be treated like this.

The arrival of the cookie basket on a Friday afternoon turned the atmosphere nearly festive. With the exceptions of Angela and Dwight, people generally stopped working and instead chatted away while munching on a variety of chocolate chip, butterscotch chip, peanut butter, and snickerdoodle treats.

Back at her desk Pam noticed that while they were still working, both Angela and Dwight had managed to take cookies back to their desks. The one person in the room not eating a flower cookie was Jim. She picked out a chocolate chip cookie shaped like a tulip and walked over to his desk. She put it directly on the opened paper catalogue he was looking at. He looked up and her and raised his eyebrows.

"Don't you want a cookie?" she asked. "Um, yeah sure," he said. "Thanks." He took a bite and looked up at her, "Anything else I can help you with, Beesly?"

She shrugged. "No," she said softly, "but you could at least act like you're happy for me."

"I am happy for you. Really. I just wanted to get this order written up so I can forget about everything here for the weekend." She had no choice but to nod and go back to her desk. She wondered if anyone thought Jim was acting odd.

At five o'clock people filed out, Pam included. She decided take all her gifts home for the weekend, and Toby offered to help carry the flowers and the basket down to her car.

"Looks like you've got quite the admirer," Toby said as they got in the elevator.

Pam grinned, a bit embarrassed by the obvious excess. "Yeah, but it seems like he has more money than sense, doesn't it?"

"Maybe not," Toby replied. "It's important to let people know that you care. It's too easy to put it off and then you wake up one day and they're gone."

Pam felt at loss for words at his reply, perhaps because she knew he was speaking from personal experience. "Yeah, I intend to make this work out," she said softly, as she watched Toby put her things in the car.

She wished him a good weekend, and soon was on her way home. It took two trips to her car to bring in her flowers, cookies, and bear, but away from the eyes of the office she didn't hide her delight at her new boyfriend's sweetness. She put the flowers on the dining room table, a perfect accent for their dinner tonight. She took her new bear and placed him on her bed. Maybe the bear's purchaser would get his chance to find it there, she thought, her eyes sparkling at the thought of how such a scene might unfold.

She was standing in the kitchen, getting things out for dinner, and trying to decide where best to put the rest of the cookie flower basket when the doorbell rang.

It was him, standing in her doorway.

"Pamela Elinor Beesly," he said, his rich voice caressing every syllable of her full name.

"James Matthew Halpert," she replied, putting as much meaning into his name. She offered her hand to coax him in, though he needed no encouragement. He shut the front door and immediately wrapped his arms around her.

"So you think that will keep them off our trail for a while?" he asked grinning.

She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a long kiss. "I should hope so," she laughed softly. "But I don't think you can afford to keep up that kind of devotion. Where did you get all those things? I know we mentioned you sending a card or some flowers, but you really outdid yourself, Halpert."

He leaned down and kissed her again. "You forget that I've had a lot of time to think about all the things I'd do for you if you were mine. Now I've got the chance, even if everyone else thinks they're from someone else."


End file.
